Along the 4 miles (6.4 kilometres) stretch of terraced bathing ghats in the holy city of Varanasi, the water of the Ganges is a "brown soup of excrement and industrial effluents." The water there contains 60,000 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml, 120 times the official limit of 500 faecal coliforms/100ml that is not considered safe for bathing.

yes, i really want to go, but this weekend i would be on my own & i'm worried they won't have another LA viewing party after this. i don't think i have the guts to go by myself, but but...it's amazing race with kent and vyxsin! if i go i will definitely bring a report back here.

i told myself i would never be so invested in a team again, but it has happened and now each episode is so stressful to watch lol.

The posts at the episode discussion thread are flying fast and furious. I think I'll just hang out in the nice K/V thread for now.

I've seen some extreme vitriol directed at K/V on unnamed forums - are we even watching the same show?! k/v are delightful, especially after last season's couples. But they've been so entertaining I haven't even picked a back up team this season. I have unwisely put all my eggs in one basket!

I did a k/v youtube run and strangely the clip that seems to pop up the most is kent and the australian surfer.

The posts at the episode discussion thread are flying fast and furious. I think I'll just hang out in the nice K/V thread for now.

I've seen some extreme vitriol directed at K/V on unnamed forums - are we even watching the same show?! k/v are delightful, especially after last season's couples. But they've been so entertaining I haven't even picked a back up team this season. I have unwisely put all my eggs in one basket!

I did a k/v youtube run and strangely the clip that seems to pop up the most is kent and the australian surfer.

Well it's still a matter of opinion I think a lot of people were put off by the fact that K/V have been kind of sneaky this season - lying to other teams, working with Gary in India and then running off once they got the right words, and then pushing the guy out of the cab in India in the previous episode. I don't particularly mind that (to me it shows that they really care about the show because they'll do anything to win; and it adds entertainment) but I mean I can understand why people are annoyed at it.

The cab guy was a drunk sleeping in the back, the driver asked them to get him out.

Kent had apparently showed Gary where the park was already...they had agreed to split after the last holy man was found.

See...editing is a big factor in playing on your emotions and hyping drama. Oddly enough, it is not always REALITY.

I think they (the editors) are not getting a lot of material for the designated baddies this season, so K/V are getting edited to fit the gap, a fact made even easier by the fact that people seem to hold a grudge on anyone that uses a U-Turn.

In Australia, even though they bickered amongst themselves once, could not have been nicer to locals and other teams. They were one of the most recognised teams (if not the most) and they took the time to say hello to people who recognized them. At one point Vyxsin even said in a confessional-type moment "It's hard, because they're like "Vyxsin! Vyxsin!" and you can't stop to chat with them."

Ok, I went to the K/V party. If it hadn't been for georgiapeach giving me a shove and passing on a lovely note though, I would have dilly dallied and not gone. So I'm writing this report for peach as promised! (Also it's amusing how comments are hate hate hate and K is just LOVE YOU ALL and waltzes off) so here is a positive but

Verbose Report.

So as it was, I was in a state of high anxiety when I walked in. The hostess took me to the amazing race section, but she didn't know what to do with me when I informed her I was there by myself. I was considering fleeing when Kent magically appeared out of nowhere like a magical pink zebra hoodie clad being, murmured some soothing words, and went to find me a seat. Well, he got me a really good one in front of the big tv and he put me with some of his goth friends (I think). I got a puzzled look or two, but hey, TAR embraces diversity.

And he only heard my name once, mumbled inarticulately, because I was dazed!, but he remembered it for the rest of the evening. And he came by to check on me too. peach was right in saying they really go out of their way to make sure everyone is ok. Unfortunately I turn into a maximum uncool spaz in K/V's vicinity.

They passed out tickets (various cute pics of K/V) for the prize drawings, which were during commercials. K/V were both really cheerful and friendly. K is adorable, and perches on things. V is a statuesque beauty.

After the episode concluded, K/V signed pics for everyone and posed for photos. The Amazing Race clue card they whip out for photos is somewhat battered, I am afraid. Phil should give them a new one!

I didn't get a chance to talk to Vyxsin as much, but she is so, so nice. I asked her about the sharks and expressed fumbling admiration of Kent's scientific knowledge (bc that periodic table moment still kicks ass). K added a note when he signed my pic , bc he is a sweetheart. I vaguely recall K asking me whether I was glad I had come after all and kissing my hand (!!) and asking if I'd met Caite (minus Brent) and pulling me over to meet her. It was all kind of a heady TAR blur. (& Caite is a peach, really. she said she was invited to all-stars, but turned it down)

Oh, and my first photo with K/V was a failure, but they could not have been nicer about posing for another one. "Of course!" "We'll be here all night!" ... K/V will overwhelm you with kindness in a society where basic courtesy is increasingly rare! And they're huggers. And apparently give talks to kids at school.

Let me read for you a quote directly from The Amazing Race rulebook: "Should a team take a form of transportation that is not the clue-required form of transportation and does not result in a time advantage, the penalty is 30 minutes."